Watch This If You Want To Build A VHF - UHF Vertical Dipole Antenna

I promised this for a long time, to some of the subscribers asking about my dual VHF - UHF vertical dipole antenna. Works great and I like the fact that I can adjust the SWR as I please.
73, YO6DXE
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[@kwladek]

Every Ham radio operator should constantly repeat out loud to himself: "The most important thing, idiot, are the antennas."

[@dxexplorer]

So true 😅😅😅. The more I learned about the hobby the more I realized what a big difference an antenna can make. And well built and tuned... can make us "happy kids" 😁. 73, YO6DXE.

[@attilarivera]

Hahahahhaah True

[@dxexplorer]

🤣🤣 73 my friend.

[@bradhiebert6403]

I'm from Canada. I found your video very interesting. Im going to build that antenna. Its very well done. Im just getting my license and i have 3 baufeng radios and CB radios. Setting up a 65' tower as i am way out in the country.

[@dxexplorer]

I like it because is simple. Of course there are many more with better performance... but for beginners like us this one is good enough. I don't have a CB radio anymore for years now... but I think next year I will get one also. 73, YO6DXE and good luck getting the license.

[@bradhiebert6403]

@dxexplorer thank you. I'm going to keep your call sign for future use when I get my license.

[@dxexplorer]

@bradhiebert6403 let me know when you get yours. I think I need a little more power and a better antenna for DX... but I hope for a QSO one day 😁😁

[@bradhiebert6403]

@@dxexplorer I will let you know when I get it.

[@multilecful]

Nice one Chip, glad you used stuff your dad made. Thats why the swr is good lol. Try a J pole next, they are good fun and easy to make. 73

[@dxexplorer]

I have a really bad space here to install antennas and I thought a simple dipole will do the job. When I will have a proper transceiver for home base I will also build some proper antennas for separate bands hehehe. But this one works really nice so far for what I need. Now I must go shopping for some 6mm tubing so I can finish the satellite Yagi antenna ))) I'm dying for a QSO over the satellites hahaha. 73 Nigel. Tomorrow we catch up and hopefully soon we do a QSO as well finally )))

[@tangobayus]

I made a dual-band dipole using 1/2" pvc and speaker wire. I made the 2m first and used a Surecom meter to tune it down to almost 0 SWR. As I recall, when I tuned it for the middle of the band, the rest of the band worked pretty well. When I added the wires for 70 cm the SWR on 2m went crazy until I got them tuned for 70. At that point the 2m SWR settled down. In use I have found that some frequencies in both bands have SWR > 3, but the built in tuner on my Yaesu gets those down to 1.5.

[@dxexplorer]

Maybe the Yaesu may have some sort of tunner that will adapt the antenna impedance and lower it ? It does seem that when you make the antenna for dual band... they always influence each other. But as you say... once you tune them well they also perform well on both bands.

[@Jerad-wu3xt]

Thank you for making these videos. You have helped me so much. Thanks again.

[@dxexplorer]

My pleasure my friend. Thank you as well for watching. I share what I do for myself... maybe I give people ideas ))) and sometimes people give me ideas to improve things, or they let me know if I do something wrong. I love this hobby and the people involved. 73

[@Yunesieh]

nice , 73!

[@dxexplorer]

Thank you. Glad you like it. 73

[@raydentong7tqt]

Just came across your video. I found it very interesting. Probably much better than using two pieces of wire coat hangers bent to fit into two seperate connectors and two appropiate lengths for 2m and 70cm.

[@dxexplorer]

Thank you so much. Well... if there is no aluminum tubing on hand... I am pretty sure the coat hangers are better than nothing 😄😄. I tried that too some while ago out of curiosity. Well adjusted they are not bad at all. 73 DE YO6DXE.

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

Hi. Many thanks for the idea of making this aerial. I am making one of these from scrap material lying about in my garage. I am also planning to do a video so will put a link to this video. Cheers from G1BKI Mick but known as old George in the UK

[@dxexplorer]

I am sure is not the best antenna... but it seems to have a good performance considering the simplicity. Good luck with the project and send me a link as well when you post the video. Cheers and have an amazing rest of the week. 73, YO6DXE.

[@WoodyPhillips]

Brilliant design. Nice.

[@dxexplorer]

Thank you so much. Inspired from an old amateur radio book from the 70's. Old is gold ))) 73

[@4youian]

Hi Chip, you could go pedestrian mobile with that and make VK3YE proud! 73, Vk7IAN

[@dxexplorer]

Indeed hehehe. I will build a magnetic loop though for the tr(u)SDX and do that properly hehehe. I'm trying to get back at building stuff as I have a table full of projects waiting to be finished... not much free time though. 73 Ian.

[@jorgecervera1200]

Gracias por compartir, excelente video, intentaré hacer la mía, 73

[@dxexplorer]

Con todo gusto mi amigo. Espero que funcione tan bien como el mío y que hagas muchos QSO. 73 DE YO6DXE.

[@jackz8060]

Thanks. Very informative

[@dxexplorer]

Thanks as well for watching. 73, YO6DXE.

[@mikemoreno4469]

Excellent.

[@dxexplorer]

I still didn't had the chance to put it on the roof yet ))

[@ki8um119]

Very nice build!!!

[@dxexplorer]

Thank you so much. Trying to make it a little more waterproof now ))) I still didn't got to install it, but I will now that the snow is gone. 73 and have an amazing week..

[@ki8um119]

@@dxexplorer 73

[@KE2BHP]

73 My Friend 👍

[@dxexplorer]

73 and have an amazing weekend... is close ))

[@seanchallenge]

Awesome

[@dxexplorer]

Thank you... 73

[@sv2tcb]

Just made the dipole for the VHF band and is working great. With 5w the swr is about 1.5 and 1.7 at 146mhz. I will probably make a video. I cut the elements at 52cm because then i can cut them for lowest swr. The ideal length is about 46cm. should i cut the dipole? Have a nice week!

[@dxexplorer]

Cut it but only 5mm at a time and check the SWR each time. It depends where you install it as well... so if you can try to measure the SWR whith the antenna in it's place that would be great. Waiting for the video 😁😁 Let me know how it goes. 73 and have an amazing week as well.

[@sv2tcb]

@@dxexplorer thank you, i will try it, the antenna for test purposes is located in my balcony and i am away while i am measuring the swr. I will let you know. I haven't tried transmitting in the 70cm band but i can receive signals well. I will keep you updated

[@dxexplorer]

Should work on 70cm as well. Only that the SWR may not be as good as on 2m.

[@9PAT508]

So...a dipole is a directional antenna. Why people say it's omnidirectional ?

[@dxexplorer]

It depends how you use it. If is horizontal... it has a weak directional tendency. But if you use it vertically then is omnidirectional. Similar to a ground plane antenna. P.S. Tomorrow I will actually release the blog post on the website if you want to have a look... it will have the radiation pattern depending on how you install the antenna. That will explain the way it works better than words ))) 73

[@LB9HI]

simple and nice.

[@dxexplorer]

Multumesc mult )) Initial am vrut sa fac un J-Pole, dar am zis ca e mai bine sa incep cu ceva simplu )) 73 si weekend frumos.

[@LB9HI]

@@dxexplorer pai cu CW, QRP, antene hand made si de pe langa Brasov ma intreb daca esti pasionat si de operat in portabil..SOTA, POTA, WWFF..:)

[@dxexplorer]

@@LB9HI Inca nu am apucat... am avut prea multe pe cap, insa anul asta am de gand sa schimb traba asta )) Cel putin in ce tine de SOTA. 73

[@LB9HI]

@@dxexplorerai grijă : creează dependenta..:)

[@dxexplorer]

@@LB9HI Cand eram cu barcuta pe mare... dupa o furtuna spuneam... "am scapat.. ce poate fi mai rau ?". O ora mai tarziu aflam ce putea fi mai rau hahaha. Asa ca nu mai spun asta )). Abia astept sa ma aleg cu inca o dependenta... cat poate fi de rau ? 😅😅😅. 73

[@zulkarnainhusin6288]

👍👍

[@dxexplorer]

Thanks my friend. 73

[@chase_h.01]

Do you have an idea what the range of this would be using a uv5r?

[@dxexplorer]

I am not sure to be honest. I keep saying that I will do a trip in the mountains and test it, but with bad weather and little free time... not yet. I do get repeaters around me very easy... 20-30km away that usually I don't with the regular antenna. I guess it depends a lot on the location and the height as well.

[@clarissegoellner7193]

Hi to all. Have you measured the bandwidths under 1:1,5 vswr ? I wonder what results you achieved. 73 de PY2CWB

[@dxexplorer]

I did yes but I can't remember exactly. But I will do another SWR sweep tomorrow and I will let you know. It's raining now so I can't do much proper measurements. 73 DE YO6DXE.

[@nealbeach4947]

#1 Build a dipole #2 Turn it sideways #3 Problem solved #4 Never overthink a dipole.

[@dxexplorer]

Yep. Pretty much that's it. Keeping things simple is the best. I just wanted to ad those adjustable "tips" to help me adjust the SWR easier. Works like a charm. And I am re-installing it as we speak on the camper 😅😅. I was just drilling the holes for the cable earlier. 73, YO6DXE

[@sv2tcb]

I was searching for this exact video. The only problem for me is how to make radials stable. Is there any solution? Best regards

[@dxexplorer]

Use any material you can think of that would do the job and try to do something similar to those pieces of plastic I have. I'm about to do the same for my dual band Yagi as I don't have enough leftovers from my dad's antenna to finish mine ))) 73 my friend.

[@sv2tcb]

@@dxexplorer i might make an antenna only for vhf and not uhf with copper pipe. A good antenna is essential, the implemented ones are not the best!

[@dxexplorer]

Try as I did first one for the 2m band as it will also resonate on 70cm. The SWR may not be perfect but it will do the job ))

[@vu2eaf]

Can you provide the design diagram

[@dxexplorer]

I have a drawing in the blog article. There is a link in the video description. 73, YO6DXE

[@victoryfirst2878]

This is not an antenna for FTA TV ??? Would you make an antenna for a deep fringe TV reception for 70 plus miles Sir ??? Thanks for considering my question and help too. vf

[@dxexplorer]

Hi... sorry but no. Even though you could probably receive something if you connect it... is not meant for TV reception. Unfortunately I cannot make videos related to TV reception on the channel. Is strictly about amateur radio. But if you Google a little I am sure there should be a lot of information on how to build one.

[@victoryfirst2878]

Thank you Sir. I will.@@dxexplorer

[@dxexplorer]

See if you can figure out the frequencies you need for the particular TV stations you need. This way you could calculate a Yagi antenna with many elements for some good reception. That is what I would do.

[@MrtechElectronics]

Exellent video bro 73 ❤❤❤❤ DE VU3IZD

[@dxexplorer]

Thanks so much buddy. Soon another one on the dual band Yagi. I just need a few more materials for that one. 73